Replica
by Harmonie
Summary: Buffy's got a new boyfriend, who is almost exactly like the guy she's trying to get over. Buffy is the last to realise it.
1. Default Chapter

Title : Replica  
Author : Harmony  
Rating : PG-13  
Summary : Buffy's got a new boyfriend, who is almost exactly like the guy she's trying to get over. Buffy is the last to realise it.   
Feedback : It is my oxygen.   
Author Notes : Any 'Friends' fans will recognise the basis of this story. Oooh cryptic.   
  
---  
  
"So we're going on a date. A real movie-popcorn-soda-walkmehome date"  
Buffy pulled a grip pin from the roller on her crown, let the curl tumble out of it and turned on her seat, smiling.  
"Hence the dress up. You do look really pretty, Buffy" Willow cooed, handing another large roller to her friend.   
"Thanks, Will. This is going to be so cool. I mean, even if we just stay friends. I don't know if I want to get all...attached just yet" Buffy's eyes flicked to a picture of Dawn and Spike, that was pinned to her noteboard. It was taken just before she came back, apparently, because she couldn't remember when Spike had been at a night-time barbecue when she was alive.   
"Come on, Buffy. You said he was nice. You said he was cute. You said he made you laugh. He sounds great. I say go for it" Willow encouraged, grinning a mischievous grin.   
Buffy shook her head  
"I'm not looking for smoochies" Buffy smiled as she stood up "But he is cute"  
  
Willow turned onto her stomach, and rested her chin on her hands.   
"What does he look like?" the redhead asked  
"Well...he has blue eyes, and he's got great arms. And his hair is...well, you'll meet him later" Buffy pulled on a pair of black pants, and a red off the shoulder shirt "How do I look?"  
Buffy held her hands up and Willow beamed  
"You look hot!" She paused "You lie. You are totally looking for smoochies, you slut"  
"Well maybe a little" Buffy confessed, before glancing at the picture of Spike again.   
  
Forgetting him was going to be hard, seeing as he was everpresent, but now she was going on a date with a new guy. A nice, new, human guy.   
  
It wasn't just because he was always there either. She often woke in the middle of the night, wishing he would climb through the window...she missed him. Even when they spoke almost every day when they met on patrol, she missed being with him. But it didn't change anything. She was moving on.  
  
---  
  
"Hey" Buffy turned as her date leant over her shoulder and presented her with slightly crushed flowers "Sorry 'bout the daisies. I, uh...I tripped and fell on them. But see it as, uhh, modern art"  
Buffy grinned and attempted to straighten out some of the petals. This was Kane or Cathan. Not many people got away with calling him Cathan. They'd met at the DoubleMeat Palace. He worked there with her, and he was the only one who made her work bearable, with his jokes and not zombieness. He'd introduced himself as Kane, but Buffy was pleased to be one of the only people who knew his real name was Cathan.   
He'd been clumsy in asking her out. He was confident and jokey and cocky usually, but asking Buffy out reduced him to stammers. He'd finally managed to blurt out "Movie? With me?" and when Buffy said yes, he'd pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead and sighed, before serving the next customer.   
  
She liked his sense of humour and his attitude most of all. He was dangerous, just the way she liked her men. And his clothing, although it was far from the Gap, always looked great. Tonight was no different. He wore a red bowling shirt, with the name "Eddy" embroidered over the pocket. It was open, with a black vest underneath. He had black jeans and boots on.   
  
"Insert a cliche about the thought counting" Buffy quipped, before searching for a way to hold the flowers.  
"Here. I'll take them" Kane offered. Buffy handed them too him, and he threw them into a nearby trashcan "I bought them. You were impressed. They were a pain to hold"  
Buffy grinned again, and walked with Kane to the cinema doors.  
He bought their tickets and led Buffy into the lobby.   
"Do you want popcorn, or anything?" he asked, looking sideways at her. She was biting her lip, and trying to decide what she wanted. It was entirely possible that he was in love.   
"Umm...we could share a big bucket?" Buffy suggested, with the smallest suggestion of flirtation in her voice.  
"That we could. Soda?"  
"God no. Don't you get fed up with free soda at Doublemeat?"  
Kane smiled  
"I was being polite. I was hoping you'd say no" he admitted.   
Buffy waited in the lobby as he went to buy popcorn. So she could see herself falling for him. Like totally, and utterly. He wasn't an instrument to get over Spike. Far from it. She genuinely liked him. Her feelings for Spike ran deep down. But she had an inkling that if she spent anymore time with Kane...well, then she was going to be having deep love feelings for two guys.  
In a moment of madness, Buffy glanced at the door and considered running.   
That idea was squashed when he walked back to her.   
  
Consequences be damned. She was going to have a nice time.   
  
---  
  
"Huh"   
"You didn't like it?" Buffy asked, falling into step with Kane as they walked back to her house.   
"No...no. It's just occured to me I enjoyed a Russell Crowe film...That's never happened before" Kane said, shaking his head.   
"You didn't like Gladiator?" Buffy asked, disbelieving. The whole world liked Gladiator.   
"Chick flick" Kane said, matter of fact  
"Yes...because chicks dig all the blood and gore. How was it a chick flick?"  
"Chicks dig Russell Crowe. Guys hate Russell Crowe cos chicks dig Russell Crowe. Chick Flick"  
"Interesting. And wrong. He's not my type of guy" Buffy said.   
"Who is?"  
"Uhhh, Ben Affleck" Buffy said, earning a groan from Kane.   
"That's original" he mocked.   
"What? He's cute. Okay, Cathan, who do you like?"  
"Angelina Jolie" Kane muttered, sheepishly. That wasn't exactly the most original choice either  
"You seem like a Jolie type of guy. My ex boyfriend liked her too" Buffy muttered, feeling slightly disturbed that both Spike and Kane liked a brunette with long hair, and a curvy figure, when she was a blonde, with shorter hair, and a not so curvy figure.   
"Then he has good taste, to like Angelina Jolie AND Buffy" Kane complimented, making Buffy blush, but giving her a sudden burst of confidence.   
She found his hand, and held it. Kane glanced down and then up, and smiled a wide wide smile.   
They walked in silence until they came to her house.   
"I live here. Here's where I live. You want to...come in?"  
"That'd be nice. I mean, I was going to be dying my hair, but that'll just have to wait, won't it?"   
Buffy smiled again, and they walked up to the driveway. Buffy opened to door, and almost screamed when she saw Xander, Spike and Dawn sitting in the lounge. She'd only bargained on Willow and Dawn. Xander was a surprise. Spike was a big big shock.   
Just as she began to back out again, Xander shouted through  
"Hi Buff! Nice night?"  
Buffy led Kane in and shut the door. She noticed Spike looking up at her. He'd seen Kane and had his eyebrow raised in question.   
"Yeah. Great!" Willow darted out of the lounge and gasped, before smiling widely. Kane smiled back, and waited for Buffy to introduce him. Buffy smiled a small apologoy smile at Spike, and then turned to Willow.   
"Will, this is Kane. Kane, this is Willow, my best friend since forever" Buffy waved her hands between the two.  
"Hi Willow" Kane said, with a small waggle of his fingers. Willow shot Buffy another look, and turned back to Kane.  
"Hey. So...you work at the doublemeat too?"   
Buffy slipped away as Willow got involved in conversation with Kane, to grab a drink. Spike. Here. Kane. Here. Wow.   
  
"Hello, Buffy"   
Buffy jumped as she saw Spike standing in the kitchen. She hadn't even seen him go in.   
"Spike...you scared me. Okay. Hi. How are you?"  
"Holding up. You?"  
"Also holding up" It was true. Deal with stuff in her life WAS harder without him. Althought she doubted Spike believed her, seeing as she was out with other guys "What are you doing here?"  
"We can bugger off"  
"We?"  
"Me and Xander"  
"You and Xander? What are you doing with Xander? Don't you like, hate each other or something?"  
"Well, sort of. But we're both in reluctant singlesville now, so we have that in common. We bumped into each other at the Bronze, played a little pool, ended up here"  
"Neat. I mean, I never thought you two would get on"  
"It's only when it comes to you that we hate each other, pet. Soooo...who's the guy?"  
"Umm...someone I really don't want to talk about with you" Buffy said, as nicely as she could make it sound. Spike nodded and started out of the kitchen "He's Kane"  
"Kane? That's his name?" Spike asked, glancing out of the kitchen at him, who was engaged in conversation with Willow, and now Xander.   
"Yeah. Short for Cathan. But you don't know that"  
"What's with the hair?" Spike asked, glancing once more at Kane. His hair was spikey with a fading bleach job. His brown roots were beginning to show through.   
Buffy looked down at the kitchen counter. She had hoped, upon meeting Kane, that Spike would not notice the fact that Kane's hair was peroxide blonde.   
"It's a thing...he has his hair, you have the duster"  
"I also have the hair" Spike said with a smile.  
"Quite. So, if I introduce him to you, you won't...you know, verbally bite his head off will you?" Buffy asked.   
"No. He seems like a nice attempt at making me jealous. Can't hold that against him"  
"It's not to make you jealous" Buffy smiled devilishly "Is it working?"  
"Yes"  
"Good" Buffy imitated their wedding conversation, earning a laugh from Spike "Thanks"  
"Welcome"  
"I miss you sometimes" Buffy blurted, almost immediately regretting it. Spike turned to face her completely  
"Ditto. But it doesn't change anything?"  
"No"  
"Figured as much. Okay. Look, I'll be nice. I wanna meet this guy, you know. Scope him out"  
"Spike...No scoping. Just meeting"  
  
Kane had now been ushered into the living room, and was chatting away happily to everyone, including Dawn, who was telling him about school.   
Spike walked into the room, and everyone looked at him, including Kane.  
Buffy coughed awkwardly.   
"Kane, this is Spike. Spike, Kane"  
"Nice to meet you, Spike" Kane stood up and offered his hand to Spike, who shook it awkwardly, giving Buffy a pointed look. Buffy's face grew red. Spike had picked up on that tiny detail of Kane being English.   
"Yeah, you too" Spike replied.   
"Spike's a friend of mine" Buffy supplied. Kane nodded, and took a step backwards. There was some history between the two of them. He could tell.  
"Where in England are you from?" Spike asked, finding himself lost for future insults. He seemed like an interesting guy.   
"Kensington, London. I moved here a couple of years ago. You?"  
"Camden"  
  
The assembled group watched the two men talk, knowing Spike had to be hating him, for being with Buffy when he couldn't, and that Kane had to be feeling it.   
All of them, Buffy particularly, were surprised when Spike invited Kane into the game of Poker that Xander had begun to deal.   
  
Buffy sat down next to Willow, and watched as Xander, her date and her until recently lover played cards, talking amicably between themselves.   
"Buffy, you never told me he was English" Willow said, quietly  
"Well, it wasn't important"  
"He's got bleached hair"  
"And?"  
"He's like a better human version of Spike!!!" Willow said, excitedly.  
Buffy opened her mouth to tell her that he wasn't like Spike at all, and that Spike was pretty good anyway, but closed it.   
  
Kane really was like Spike, and maybe that was why she liked him so much. He was the Spike she COULD deal with loving.   
  
---  
  
Spike ducked out onto the porch. It was late night, and it had turned into a real party. He'd been a good jealous ex, managing to not rip Kane's head off. And besides, he liked him. It made him sick. He wanted to hate him, to have him be boring, like Riley, or a nancy boy like Angel. Just so he could apply a nickname to him.   
But he had great taste in music, in TV, in women.   
Spike lit up a cigarette and inhaled. He sighed as he exhaled a stream of smoke.   
"Mind if I join you?" Kane's voice said from behind him.   
"Uh, no, sure" Spike muttered, really wishing he wouldn't.   
To Spike's surprise Kane lit up his own cigarette.   
"Does Buffy know you smoke?" Spike said. Well, this was something. He smoked. Buffy hated that.   
"Yeah. She knows. She's cool with it, though"  
Bugger.  
"Where'd you meet her?" Spike asked  
"At the Doublemeat Palace. We both work there" Kane said, making it clear he hated the job "What about you and Buffy?"  
"Four years ago, The Bronze. Or rather behind the Bronze. I threatened to kill her" Spike smiled, remembering the first time he'd seen her.   
Kane stared at him, like he'd grown a second head.   
"I'm joking" Spike lied  
"Oh...okay. She tells me you only settled down here about two years ago"   
"Well, I left for a bit. Came back to town to visit. Then left again. Then came back, and stayed. Mainly because of Buffy really. She helped me out a bit. I helped her out. Then some nasty business with her boyfriend leaving, and we fell out over that"  
Spike thought he was revealing a little too much, but didn't linger on that thought.  
"Why?"  
It occured to him that Kane was strangely interested in his business.   
"I hated the guy. A real lunkhead, he was. I told Buffy as much after he left, and she didn't take it too well. Then Glory came along and during that escapade, we became friends"  
"Glory?"  
"Umm....yeah. Glory, the...uh...social worker"  
"So you're good friends?"  
"Kinda. We don't always get along"  
  
There was a long pause, filled with inhaling and exhaling of smoke.  
  
"You're the ex boyfriend, aren't you?"  
"What? What makes you say that?"  
"The fact that you are so very obviously still in love with her"  
"You are off your rocker, mate" Spike spluttered  
Kane shrugged and headed back indoors  
"And what's more... she's in love with you"  
Spike looked up at the sky, and frowned  
"You tell her that" he muttered.   
"Well, that'd ruin MY chances, now wouldn't it?" Kane said, closing the kitchen door behind him. 


	2. Tornado

Title : Replica  
Author : Harmony  
Rating : PG-13  
Summary : Spike dislikes Kane. Kane dislikes Spike. Buffy likes them both.   
Feedback : It is my oxygen.   
Author Notes : Kane is named "Kane" for a reason. All will be revealed later. Not this chapter but later.   
  
---  
  
"Well?"  
"Well what?"  
"What did you think of the new guy in our Slayer's life?"   
Spike cast a sideways glance at Xander. Well, if anyone could back up his new found hatred of Kane, then it was Xander - King of Buffy Boyfriend Bashing.  
"You know what? I kinda liked him" Xander said after a long pause, before giggling.   
  
Spike sniffed, and pretended he wasn't terribly disappointed, even if it was inebriation behind Xander's words. It seemed everyone thought Kane was just perfect. Willow hadn't stopped smiling all night. Buffy had spent the entire night trying not to upset Spike too much, but he'd caught snippets of girly conversation, with such sickening words as "totally hot" and "Kind and gentle". Even Dawn, his little niblet, had sat at Kane's feet like a little puppy, enchanted with the new guy.   
Xander had just been interested in the drinking game Spike had invented, when Kane had gone to play the nice new boyfriend for a while. It involved downing a shot of vodka for every losing hand of Blackjack. Spike figured Xander was looking to get horribly drunk, in a dumb attempt at blocking his problems out.   
  
So now, Xander was veering off to the side as he walked, and he swayed a little between steps. Spike was quite sober, having won most games. Disappointingly sober, actually. A drunken haze sounded like a nice place to be.   
  
"Is that the copious amounts of vodka talking, or do you actually like someone who's dating your precious Buffy?" Spike asked, staring out into the inky black cemetery.   
"What did you call Buffy?" Xander stopped, and raised his fist shakily, preparing for a fight.  
"Oh please. You could barely manage to get your coat on. Now you're gonna beat me up?" Xander's fist dropped to his side, and Spike rolled his eyes "Besides, I didn't call her anything"  
"I wanna go to sleep. Think I'll get bited if I sleep here?" Xander indicated the wet grass, and bent down as if to flop onto the ground.   
"You're an idiot. I should leave you here. Who taught you to play cards? Who taught you to twist on 18? Why am I still talking to you like you aren't ratfaced?" Spike bent over and pulled Xander to his feet, muttering curses under his breath  
"Cos you love me?" Xander suggested. Spike froze and shuddered dramatically as he hoisted Xander's arm over his shoulder, so he could at least drag him.   
"You say that again, mate, and we're going to have issues"  
  
---  
  
Buffy's heart leapt into her throat and then down into her stomach and finally settled with pounding her chest when he kissed her.  
This was the first time they'd pressed lips, as Willow might say, and it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined it.   
  
She'd imagined it being so bad, that she had to run away and cry in her bedroom, or that he'd be the one running away.   
  
Or that when they did kiss, there would be nothing behind it whatsoever, and it was all just the dizziness of a new relationship making them think they were falling in love.   
  
The worst thought she'd had was that Spike would come strolling along, and that he'd get that heartbroken look on his face.   
  
But this wasn't bad. Spike was nowhere in sight, and it wasn't awful, and there was something behind it. It was better than Scott Hope, better than Parker...better than Riley, better than anyone.   
  
Except her two vampires, who were pretty much untouchable when it came to this kissing business.   
  
Buffy jolted back to reality and realised she was still kissing Kane, and she was thinking about Spike and Angel and that couldn't be good.   
  
"Mmm, we have to get back to work" Buffy murmured, eyeing the growing line of customers.   
"Nah, we have a few more minutes" Kane encouraged, raising his eyebrow, enticingly.   
"But David keeps staring in at us, like a great big zombie pervert. It's gross...especially when he happens to be carrying a bucket of old grease" Buffy shivered, and retrieved her hat from the bench.   
"Oh, well, I'll rip his eyes out...no problem" Kane said, with a mock growl. Buffy stared at him. If back had been turned, or her eyes had been closed, she'd have thought Spike had said it.   
"Easy, boy. Come on. Doublemeat customers awaiting" Buffy pulled at the orange sleeved arm of her boyfriend. He got up, but spun her round, and Buffy found her back against the cold metal locker. And he was kissing her again.   
  
Buffy realised then, that she'd sealed her fate. She was well and truly torn between two men now. Even when she had been seeing Spike, and had no intentions of "cheating" on him, she'd had small warm fuzzies about the funny cute guy who worked at the Doublemeat with her. And he'd been there for her, with a large soda, when he caught her crying in the locker room the day she broke up with Spike.  
  
It wasn't like she was feeling these things on rebound. Because she'd felt smaller mini versions of them before. When she was with Kane...he made her laugh, and made her happy. The similarities to Spike...well, maybe she did like him for that originally. But she barely noticed now, and he was just Kane to her. She often found herself staring at him, and getting lost, when he was doing something as everyday as cooking fries.   
  
Was it possible to love two people at the same time, to almost the same extents, but in completely different ways?  
  
Was she cheating on Kane? Was she cheating on Spike? Was she cheating herself? This thinking about love business was making her brain hurt. Was the line of customers shortening?  
  
Screw the customers, she thought, but her hand's journey towards the brown and bleach blonde hair was frozen by someone clearing their throat dramatically.   
"Buffy, when you've finished, maybe you want to start serving someone who is actually a paying customer" Lorraine, the manager, fixed Buffy with an amused stare "Kane, you're on grill"  
Buffy smiled back weakly, and disentangled herself from Kane, who pulled his hat on.   
"Great!" Kane said enthusiastically, before rolling his eyes at Buffy.  
David, coworker from hell, who liked to talk about frogs, and made a habit of pretending to spit in every single burger he wrapped, wandered into the locker room for his break, as Buffy and Kane left.   
Buffy's skin crawled whenever David walked by her, or talked to her. Kane was unfortunate enough to spend a lot of time working with him on the grill, cleaning grease, and he'd told Buffy that David asked questions about Buffy constantly, when she was out of earshot.   
Maybe he was a demon. Or worse...what if he had a crush on her?!  
  
Buffy tucked that disturbing thought away and bid a small goodbye, happy grilling to Kane, with a little wave.   
"Welcome to the Doublemeat Palace. What can I get you?" Buffy asked, cheerfully. Her forced happy demeanour dropped when she looked up to see Spike smirking at her. He had a habit of doing this. Turning up during her shift. He knew exactly when she'd be serving customers. He hadn't done it for about two weeks now. Well, ever since she broke up with him. So it WAS a surprise to see him.   
"Just off break?" Spike asked, staring around Buffy at Kane, who was oblivious to his presence.   
"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, trying to sound good natured, when really, she hated him turning up...seeing her in her ridiculous outfit.   
"Well, actually coming to get food, believe it or not" Spike laughed, staring up at the menu.   
"Don't you drink blood anymore?" Buffy teased, before looking down at the pictures on her till "Get the Doublemeat special"  
"Yeah...one of, uh, them then. Thought I'd try something a little different with my spicy O-neg tonight" Spike said, staring once again at Kane.   
Buffy keyed it in, and Spike held out the money, pleasantly surprised she didn't even ask him what drink he wanted and whether he wanted large or regular fries. She knew apparently.   
"On the house" Buffy smiled, before she turned around and shouted towards the grill "Kane! Can we get some more Doublemeat specials?"  
"Coming up!" Kane shouted in response, glimpsing up, and raising his eyebrow at Spike.   
"I have to say...I'm pleased he looks embarassingly bad in his uniform" Spike said, tucking his money back into his pocket.   
"Oh shut up" Buffy looked down at her own orange atrocity "It's called having a job"  
"You shouldn't be working here. I have money. I told you a million times. It'll kill you" Spike tapped his fingers on the counter, as Buffy put a lid on his drink, and rolled the top of the brown Doublemeat Palace bag.   
"Spike, I won't take money from you, because it's not your responsibility" Buffy said, making it clear she was fed up with having this conversation every single time work came up.  
"Well, as the insane vampire who's in love with you, I want the responsibility" Spike said. Buffy glared at him, as Kane made his way over.   
"Hi Spike" he said, eyeing the brown bag "Hungry?"  
"Yeah. Okay, I'll be going" Spike said, grabbing his drink, and waving over his shoulder.   
  
"Is it just me, or does he have attitude problems?" Kane said, shaking his head.   
Buffy watched the bleached hair disappear out of sight, and shrugged.   
"No, he just doesn't like hanging about in fast food joints. Can't say I blame him" she sighed, realising for the first time, that Sophie was handling customers alone.   
"Well, he stuck around long enough when I wasn't here" Kane sniffed.   
"He was waiting for his burger" Buffy muttered, stepping back up to the till, fake smile plastered in place.   
  
---  
  
"I'm gonna go home, take a shower, and then I'm gonna drink my depressing job away at the Bronze" Kane took another of his seemingly endless supply of misnamed bowling shirts, out of his locker, before pulling off his orange and white work shirt. Buffy glanced sideways at his chest, and exhaled as he put his faithful black vest on "Are you going to join me for intoxicating beverages?"  
Buffy changed her own shirt, still feeling a little shy in front of him, but popped her head out of the neck hole to see him concentrating a little too hard on fixing his hair.   
"Yeah. What time?"  
Kane looked up at the clock on the wall, and clicked his tongue.   
"About 9:00?" he finally asked.   
"Okay" Buffy took a brush out of her locker and ran it through her hair a few times, before twisting it up and clipping it.   
"Invite Dawn and Willow too. I mean, if they want to hang out. Don't force them. That's just evil" Kane deadpanned  
Buffy smiled, and pulled her coat on.   
"I'll ask them" She promised  
"Buffy?" Kane looked towards her, and immediately dropped his eyes to his hands when she looked back   
"Yes?"  
  
"I like you...I mean, really. Huge amounts of like...or love. Bloody Hell. I'm royally screwing this up" Kane coughed, and cleared his throat at the same time. Buffy wondered if she should say anything, but instead she just kept quiet and let him talk "I love you, and it sounds silly, because we've only been dating for a week and a bit. But we've worked together for ages now"  
Buffy nodded, and found that even if she wanted to speak, she doubted she could.   
"Hmm" A small noise that really meant nothing came from the back of Buffy's throat.   
"And you are a bright and shiny thing in my life. Like a really good flashlight in a dark basement, with spiders in it, and a rat that lives in the corner" Kane finished, glad to have it off his chest.   
"Umm, wow" Buffy said, trying not to look too ecstatically happy.   
"Certainly. Important to have gotten it out in the open, I think" Kane said, stammering.  
"Certainly" Buffy imitated.   
"Okay, so now you know, and now we can just be normal again. I'm sorry to have put you on the spot like that" Kane nodded, and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, and moved forward to kiss her cheek, and get out of there, possibly running, as quickly as possible. Buffy moved just in time, and he found himself deeply engrossed in much more than a quick kiss.   
  
---  
  
Spike violently stabbed at the buttons of the remote. There was nothing on. Nothing. TV was useless. His human food tasted like rubber, and he thought someone, probably Kane, had spit in his burger.   
With a growl, he threw the remote at the wall, and leant back in his chair.   
What the hell was Buffy doing to him?  
Unbeknownst to her, he'd witnessed most of the off duty snogging, going on in the locker room. Not that he was spying, but customers got a pretty good view of the room when the door was open.   
So he was now in an irrationally bad mood with her, that had dulled when she'd been nice to him when she served him, but had come back with a vengeance when lover boy got involved.   
What was with that guys hair anyway? Spike had no reflection, and even he managed to keep his roots dyed, according to Willow, who happily informed him that "he was so bleached that he looked like a vampire beacon".   
Feeling slightly happier about having better hair than his rival, Spike grinned and focused on ways to take his mind off the niggling visuals of Kane's lips being far to close to his Buffy.   
It was violence, or cigarettes. And he was all out of smokes.   
He pulled his duster on, and went to his weapons cabinet. Something sharp, pointy and multi-pronged would be good, but he'd broken his last one.   
Grinning devilishly, Spike pulled out a battleaxe and a one of his old railroad spikes. This'd have to do.   
  
---  
  
Buffy spun a stake on her forefinger, and threw it in the air, before catching it at the pointed tip. Where was all the action tonight? It was as if a tornado had swept through the cemeteries, and no demon life was left.   
Buffy shrugged and continued walking. She came to a halt when she saw the tornado in action in the distance. Spike was taking on three, no, four polgara demons... and he was winning.   
Buffy winced as she heard the woosh of the battleaxe stop when it hit the neck of a demon. The head came clean off, and rolled along the floor. Spike didn't even stop swinging the axe, and made a large gash in the abdomen of the Polgara that had just jumped from a tombstone.   
Impressed, but majorly wigged by the axe happy vampire, Buffy halved the distance between them, and stopped to watch.   
  
Spike threw the battleaxe to the ground, and twisted the neck of the injured demon, before taking the railroad spike from his pocket, and gesturing at the two floored demons.   
Buffy watched him dance on his toes, as the skewer shot out of the wrist of the first Polgara demon to stand. Using the spike as a club, Spike swung it down and broke the skewer, and drove the blunt end of the metal into the stomach of the demon. The remaining Polgara ran at Spike, and released the pointed bone skewer into the vampire's side.   
Buffy ran to his aid, but stopped a foot away when Spike simply stiffened, and broke the bone off. He yanked it out of his side, teeth clenched and used it to impale the last demon.   
Panting heavily, but unnecessarily, Spike threw the bone down, and touched the hole in his side. He rolled his eyes when his fingers came away red.   
"Are you alright?" Buffy asked.   
Spike apparently hadn't noticed her, because he jumped ever so slightly.  
"Yup, fine" Spike smiled slightly and removed his axe from the grass "Flesh wound"  
"I wasn't talking about the gaping hole in your side, actually. What's with the Malcolm McDowell ultra violence? You were nuts" Buffy looked down at the four demon bodies and winced.   
Spike shrugged and began to walk back to his crypt, looking completely unhurt.   
Buffy watched him walk for a moment, and ran to catch up with him.   
"Spike?"  
"What?"  
"What's wrong with you?"  
"I just got skewered. It's actually quite painful. I'm going into my nice crypt, with a bottle of whisky, and I'm going to rest" Spike turned and faced her "Bugger off"  
Buffy stared at his back as he stepped into his home.   
"I don't understand what I did-" Buffy's words were cut short by the crypt door slamming shut.   
  
Spike flopped into his armchair, and pulled his t-shirt off. The wound was clean anyway. Nothing that would cause problems. Nothing that wouldn't heal.   
He could sense Buffy outside the door. But he wasn't in the mood to listen to her tonight.   
Spike pulled a bottle from behind a cushion, unscrewed the cap and tipped it back down his throat.   
He grimaced at the burning sensation, and got to his feet. Buffy was still there.   
"Sod her" he muttered to himself.   
With a little difficulty, Spike made his way down the ladder, and located the first aid kit. Haphazardly, he wrapped his abdomen with a thick bandage. It had already stopped bleeding.  
Drinking the last of the whisky, Spike lay on top of the covers, and sighed. He rested his right forearm on his forehead, and stared at the canopy about his newly fixed bed. Clem had helped him find a new four poster, and move it in. And he'd been alone in it every night since the night Buffy had broken up with him. With his free hand, he retrieved his book from the nightstand, and began to read.   
  
"Spike?" Buffy's head appeared at the opening of the lower level, and Spike lifted his head.   
"I'm actually trying to relax, so my original statement stands. Bugger off"  
"Can I just talk to you?"  
"No"  
"I'm coming down"  
Without waiting for an answer, Buffy's feet appeared at the top rung. Then her legs and her hips and finally her face.   
She jumped off the last step, and Buffy looked up and down at the new oak bed, with a white silk canopy.   
"This is nice. Where'd you get it?" she stepped to the bed, and touched the material.   
"Something tells me you aren't here to talk upholstery" Spike said, moving his forearm to behind his head.   
  
"No. I want to know what went on back there"  
"I was fighting demons. It's all I'm good for nowadays"  
"Huh"  
"Huh what, Slayer?"  
"Huh, as in Huh, I guess you really like getting the shit kicked out of you" Buffy turned and faced him  
"Can't see where you're headed with this, luv" Spike replied, eyeing her suspiciously.   
"I'm saying why patrol alone? You know I've been looking for those four. You knew they were about. Why patrol alone?" Buffy was aware she sounded a bit like an angry Giles, and like she was Spike's watcher.  
"I attacked them" Spike said simply.  
"Yeah, well, wait for me next - you attacked them?!" Buffy said, disbelieving.   
"Mmmm hmm"   
"You could've been killed" Buffy said, quietly.  
"Coulda. Didn't" Spike said, still trying to be angry with her, and failing when he saw how upset she was.   
"You're an idiot" Buffy whispered  
"How so?"  
"I just told you...you could've been killed"  
"And you're so big with the caring. Besides, I was a little pissed off. Needed to relieve some tension"  
"I do care" Buffy muttered  
  
The room fell quiet, as Buffy stood at the end of the bed, and Spike sat up. Buffy swallowed as the sheet fell off his chest.   
"Okay, well, same thing, without the dumb not caring line" Spike responded.   
"Are you angry with me?" Buffy asked, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Her eyes began to tear up. Spike noticed this, and shook his head vigorously.   
"Well, not now"  
"But you were?"  
"A little"  
"Why?"  
"Because you're dating a moron, and not me"  
"You're a moron too"  
"Yeah, but I'm the better moron"  
"I do care"  
Spike narrowed his eyes, and nodded  
"You said that already" he said, slowly. Buffy nodded back  
  
"I know, but you need to know, so you don't do anything THAT stupid again"  
"I won't do it again. Sorry I scared you" Spike smiled "I like you worrying about me"  
"Well I don't like worrying about you" Buffy began to play with the silk again.   
"You don't like loving me either" Spike asked. Buffy's head raised slowly and she met his eyes. His eyebrow was raised in challenge "Do you?"  
"You came to that conclusion how exactly?" Buffy said with a definite shake in her voice.   
"I just...did. About 5 minutes ago actually"   
Buffy nodded. Then shrugged. Then nodded again. And finally shook her head.  
"I don't know how you expect me to respond to that" Buffy said, feeling like the tornado was about to run wild again. Instead, Spike laughed and shrugged.   
"No...me neither really" he sighed "But it's important that we both know now, I guess"  
Buffy stepped a little closer to Spike, but kept a safe "no touching" distance  
"Both know what? I haven't admitted anything yet"  
Spike stuck his tongue out between his teeth, and then chewed his lip.   
"No. But you haven't run screaming, or denied it either. Make it easy on yourself, pet. Stop pissing about with Burger boy, and get yourself out of that nasty emotional hole you keep digging yourself into" Spike gave a small genuine smile. Buffy roughly swiped at a tear that ran down her face.   
"It's not that simple..."  
"Yeah and why not?"  
"Cos I'm in love with you..." Buffy looked up through her eyelashes "...and Kane"  
Spike eyed her skeptically for a moment, before realising she was deadly serious.   
  
This was some mess she'd gotten into...but she hadn't stayed long enough to let him help her out. The crypt door slammed above him, and Spike flopped back onto the bed. 


End file.
